The Nashville Predators were conservative financially in their offseason acquisitions. Yet, they promised their season ticketholders a playoff refund if they didn't make the postseason cut. Will the Preds be signing checks come April?

ESPN.com asked for your thoughts about the Predators. Here is an edited sampling of your responses:

While this Predators team may be the best one yet, they are still far from making the playoffs in the West. Perhaps they would if they were in the Eastern Conference's Southeast Division. But playing in a division with Detroit, St. Louis, and even Chicago, is hard on a young team. Thankfully, Columbus is there with us. Having said all that, in two seasons, when the youth gets more experience and the farm system is fully stocked, expect this team to be a perennial playoff contender. That is if they last that long in Nashville.

Charlie Tuttle
Clarksville, Tenn.

Why is there a hockey team in Nashville (or Florida, or Carolina, or Anaheim for that matter)? The Predators will once again bore a true hockey fan to tears with their style of play in the hopes of running with far superior teams. What's worse is that their fans -- even after several seasons -- still think icing is only something found on a cake! As long as they're having a good time, I guess. Ignorance must be bliss. The youth on this team could be developing on a playoff-contending team in a hockey city, learning from seasoned veterans or All-Stars in the midst of their careers. Instead, players like Legwand, Arkhipov and Yachmenev are asked to shoulder an unfair load to make the franchise look bad instead of futile.

Mr. Leipold should invest the extra ticket money in a CD or savings account. The interest will earn a little money before it has to be returned following the regular season. With all apologies to the handful of true hockey fans (?) in Nashville, this franchise does not belong in Tennessee and would be better suited elsewhere. Or it could be terminated; the NHL needs to dissolve a few teams.

Alan Boerngen
Carlyle, Ill.

Maybe Major League Baseball could take a note from the Preds' CPA. Spending is out of control in Major League sports, but at least the Preds are waiting on a return for their investment before throwing money at the problem. I doubt high-priced talent would fit in to the system, anyway. Personally, I am trying to be patient. Successful franchises are not created overnight.

Paul Sachtleben
Nashville, Tenn.

I look forward to the rather large crow sandwich you guys will be chomping on when the youngsters on this team step up and play to their potential. The fiscal restraint showed by this team has been admirable. The "Playoff Pledge" will become the "Playoff Payoff" as the Preds slip into the playoffs at the No. 7 slot due to a weakened Central Division.

Paul McCann
Nolensville, Tenn.

It really is hard to tell about these Preds. All of their offseason acquisitions have the potential, but not one of them has proven to be what the team really needs. They need to make a run at Theo Fleury to give themselves an identity, because as it stands all they have to sell to their fans is the possibility of a fast hard-working team that can play with the big boys but get slapped around by the chumps. This where they need a couple of vets so that they may believe in themselves and the coach. No playoffs unless all the young guys really come through and all the other teams play really bad.

Jeff
Nashville, Tenn.

The Preds should be a much better team than last year, but that's not saying much. The Vowel Line (Arhkipov, Erat, Orzsagh) is a great line that is only going to get better, and could have multiple 20-goal scorers this year instead of just Arhki. They've added some veteran leadership and grit (Gilchrist, Wilm, Pederson) with some potential for offense. Getting Scott Walker back is huge -- he is the perennial team MVP and plays in all situations. Dunham had a bad year in part because of defensive lapses in front of him, which shouldn't be as bad this year with the addition of Trepanier and the fiercer competition to win a spot on D. They've got to get the production out of Legwand that they expect; put him with Hartnell and Walker and it could happen. Playoffs might not happen this year, but they should be in the race for a lot longer into the spring.

C.A.
Nashville, Tenn.

Many of the thoughts that I have coming into this season are similar to the thoughts and hopes that I had last year. I figured that the young guys would continue to mature and develop into the scoring threat that we had hoped for. Well, so much for that!

This year, the NHL's most anonymous team will continue the evolution from an expansion franchise, to a competitive, entertaining and more veteran club. As a season ticket holder from Day One, I don't expect the team to make the playoffs. (Which is good, considering I'll get some of my money back.) I do however; feel this team made some excellent moves beginning with the trades of Cliff Ronning and Tom Fitzgerald. They were both fan favorites, but it was time to let the "kids" (Legwand, Arkhipov, Erat, Orszagh, Hartnell, Hall and Andersson) take on the responsibility of putting the puck in the net.

The offseason was great from a personnel standpoint. The additions of Gilchrist, Pederson, Wilm, Mann, and Pittis will allow the young guys to step up and allow Barry Trotz to roll four lines comfortably.

The defense is going to be better. (It can't be much worse.) Karalahti, whom was acquired in the Ronning trade, is going to be an All-Star. Timonen should have been one last year, and is quietly emerging as a superstar (if he was playing in New York, they would compare him to a young Brian Leetch). If Dan Hamhuis is anything like he was in junior, he could be another All-Star.

Goaltending is and has always been our strongest asset. Dunham is a top 10 netminder and Vokoun is an able backup. If Dunham can stay healthy, and gets a little more help from his defense, he should have a career year.

Bottom line: We are going to be better. Look for Arkhipov to explode this year and for the team to put up more offensive numbers. We may even challenge for a playoff spot up until the very end of the season. But it's not going to happen! The West is too deep and we haven't closed the gap on the rest of the pack. I'll be getting my refund check around the time the playoffs enter the second round.

Tom
Nashville, Tenn.